Where's the beef?

Well, apparently there is a new (or at least new to me) certification of beef. I know you guys think that I have a one way ticket to the cukoo's nest but that is ok. A year ago I would have felt the same way so just humor me.

The weight gain on the road has been a little out of control in the last year or so. It started before my decision to not eat any meat that wasn't grass-fed/naturally raised but it certainly probably didn't help to replace meat on the road with carbs. On the flip side, not being sick for going on 6 months now is pretty much a record for me, especially considering the number of planes I get on. Long story short....I feel disgusting and I have to get the weight off. I feel like a low carb deal is the best way to go so I have decided to be as relaxed as I can be on the road with the whole meat deal until I can get some weight off. My no meat eating (and this is just on the road, not at home) didn't cause me to gain any extra weight but it didn't help me lose either. Well, tonight when looking for a place to eat in Salt Lake City I found a steakhouse that was nearby that bragged about Angus Certified Beef Natural....well, from the reading I have done, I have learned that "natural" doesn't always mean what you want it to me so I looked it up. Turns out that they do actually have standards for this...no hormones/antibiotics, vegetarian fed (though this can still mean corn, but corn will make cows sick which is why they have to have antibiotics so I would have to reason that it is a lot less corn). You can even trace your cow to birth (not that I would ever do that). I had some natural filet mignon tonight. I will not say it was as good as the steak that Drena and I drooled over last week but it was pretty darn good...better than most chain places like Ruth's Chris and stuff. Here is a link so you can read it yourself (and I am sure you all can't wait :-))

I also just finished reading the South Beach Recharged book on the plane today (after my 3hr nap) and I have to say that it aligns with my thoughts on food (minus the whole natural part but I can work with that because I can just find the meat they say to eat in the natural world)....now I just have to put it into practice. I am going to start after girl's weekend (no alcohol and I don't want to miss out on the box of wine). I feel good about it because I feel like it doesn't teach you just to eat low fat (which can be worse for you processed-food-wise). I hope I can do it and I think that if I have a talk with Craig he will be supportive. He knows how awful I have felt about the weight lately and I think that he wants me to do whatever will help me feel better.

5 days.....

not that I am counting down or anything but I can't wait until next weekend. I have been so busy lately and I just feel like doing nothing. I know there will be a lot of that next weekend :-)

Since I moved I have (finally) made friends but it still isn't like my good ole Atlanta girls. Drena and I were talking last week and she commented on how I didn't really blog that much anymore. I told her that I felt sort of disconnected from everyone and like I didn't really have much to blog about. I do feel a little disconnected (just in a different stage in life so I don't have as much in common with my friends right now, not necessarily a bad thing) and it sort of got me to thinking. I am a little disconnected from my family too. I have barely talked to my sisters lately or my mom. This is sort of a long stretch for me to not talk to them or see them and it certainly isn't on purpose, I just don't really feel like I have much to contribute. My sister has a new baby, my other sister is going to be trying soon, and um, yeah, I am still here in Ohio. Do you ever feel that way? I mean, yes, I got a promotion and yes, it is HARD, and I am stressed (and sorry to keep mentioning it but it is what CONSUMES my time lately), but that is not nearly as fun to hear about as cute babies.

I think that I am looking forward to the weekend too because I love sitting around with my girls and chatting and gossiping and just talking about life. There is something so comforting in talking in person and not over email or blog or whatever. Some things I just don't want to put out in blogger land (not necessarily bad things but just personal things or work things that I don't want anyone to ever find). I miss having someone who is really close to me (that is a girl) that I can talk to about whatever, even if I am just being stupid about something and need to be calmed down.

Anyway, I can't wait. I am really looking forward to it....trying to pick the yarn I will bring for all the crafting time Drena and I will have as we all sit around and chat. Secretly hoping Erin will bring a box of wine (or we can pick one up on the way). I get to see Carrie all cute and preggo and see Molly (who probably could use some drinking and talking herself) and Meghan (who I don't think that I have seen in over a year). I am sad that the other people couldn't come and I will miss them (especially Rachel who I can't easily see when I want) but I am thankful for the ones who can.

See you gals soon!

Better Blogger

I am going to try to be a better blogger. I have certainly been a slacker lately but I just haven't felt like there was a ton to report that would interest anyone. I mean new carpet is extremely exciting and all, but some excitement you have to keep to yourself.

So, I guess the biggest bit of news we have had lately is not really great news but I don't think that it is really a secret either....Craig got diagnosed with cutaneous lupus. Fun stuff. He had this rash that he would get about 3 days after being in the sun. We couldn't figure out what it was and we looked up rashes all over the internet. No medicine really helped so it was really bizarre. I finally made him an appointment with a dermatologist thinking that it was just a sun rash....imagine my surprise when I talked to him later that day and he said they did a skin biopsy. They said he either had lupus or he was allergic to the sun. Um, that seems like a big difference. Then a week later he got the results and they said he had lupus. Then it was a question of what kind....he had emailed me the word above which is just the skin kind but then there is also a kind that is all your organs or something so I was worried. Of course they tell you no info on the phone and then getting it out of C was even worse so I only got half of what they did say on the phone. Today he finally went to get the full results and see the doctor. Turns out (thankfully) he only has the skin kind!! That is the best case scenario. The doctor had prescribed him meds the first time which he refused to take so I made him tell the doctor that this time. The doc seemed surprised that the rash cleared up without meds and told him that he only had to take them if he had a flare up (which made him really happy). Since the first visit we have been putting 70 sunscreen (they make 100!!!) on him and he hasn't had anymore problems so I am hoping we have figured out a way to beat this in just 2 weeks :-) He also stays out of the sun during the hot parts and stuff and it seems to work. I am glad that it turned out to be a less serious kind for sure.

So, between that and my thyroid, I think that we just feel old and like we are falling apart. At least neither of those things is due to anything we did or didn't do....at least not to my knowledge. so at least I don't feel like we have done it to ourselves.

Other than that the battle of the bulge continues for me. I still have not lost any of the weight I gained from the thyroid and/or traveling. Most of what I read suggests a low carb diet so I am trying that. It severely conflicts with my no eating meat that isn't organic when on the road. If you cut out carbs and you cut out meat, you eat a lot of lettuce and stay very hungry. I am hoping one day I will figure it out. Until then, I apologize for the girls who might have to see me in a bathing suit....let's just pretend I am 5 months pregnant :-) Then it can be "cute". That is about what it looks like.

The new job is still kicking my butt but I hope that will one day slow down a little. I think that a lot of it is putting the framework in place. I have a lot of personalities that are really different so getting it all together is a challenge but at least it is a good challenge.

I am sad that I haven't seen my nephew in two months but I am hoping to visit him next Sunday when we get home from girls' weekend.

That ends this edition of random thoughts!

So much going on lately. I feel busy all the time (the travel doesn't help). I thought it best to do this post in bullets.

--Craig's parents are visiting this weekend. I am a bit nervous about it because they are bringing their dog. I got an email from Craig's mom this morning that their dog was in a fight on Sunday and they didn't want to leave her so his dad was going to stay home with the dog and his mom was going to DRIVE across the country ALONE. I asked Craig if they could bring the dog and we could just keep the cats in the basement for the weekend (it is finished/furnished, has a sliding glass door and it is where their litter box is). The Craig's mom keeps asking if the cats will be secure because their dog was trained to hunt and if one of the cats got out the dog would attack. I was nervous because Chloe has gotten out before but it was when we didn't close the door all the way. Craig assures me we can lock them down there without issue. I am still nervous.

--This promotion has proved to be quite a challenge. I know in a lot of jobs people make fun of the title "manager" and certainly "senior manager" as just being titles. I don't know how it works for other people but I have to actually MANAGE. Our job isn't one of those jobs where you go to work and do the same thing every day and the manager is just there to make sure no one stops coming to work. It is project based and I spend a lot of time allocating projects and answering questions about said projects and smoothing things over. I would say it is 50% of my time. I am hoping it will settle a bit but I am not going to get my hopes up.

-- On Sunday Craig and I participated in a 29 mile bike "tour". A tour is like a race except it isn't a race at all, just a ride. We could start anytime between 7:30 and 9:30 and had to be done with the course by 4pm. We weren't sure how the whole thing worked so we got there around 7:30 to register and stuff. On the way there we drove through the hardest rain I have ever seen in my life!! It was awful and I was doubting that we would be able to even ride but luckily when we got there it was sunny and WINDY. To give you an idea, we were riding at about 15-18 mph out of the wind but whenever we had to go against it we (i) could only go 9 mph....you do the math. I really enjoyed doing the event with him and I think that he was really proud of me for doing so well. That was the first time I had ridden a road bike on the road. We normally ride on a paved trail. I think that we will try to do more of them.

--I am extremely disappointed in the CSA we are doing. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture and half the stuff we get comes from other countries (and rots fast). I don't feel like I am supporting the community if my money is not only going out of the community but out of the country. UGH. They also send a lot of weird stuff that we have to look up to even know what it is and the seem to stuff it with leaves (lettuce or the ends of radishes or random greens). I just don't feel like we are having a good experience. I talked to the other couple we share with and they sort of feel the same way. They have an option where you can choose what you get each week so I think we are either going to try to switch to that or switch to the farm that I used to get our eggs from. I am really disappointed.

--Tonight I am going to see Sex and the City 2 with my Dayton girls....feels weird to have a girls' night that doesn't involve Erin, Carrie, Drena, Morgan or Jennifer....my Atlanta girls. I am glad that I have found friends here but I do miss my ATL girls (and all of you in other states too but I didn't get to see you often before either). We decided (by we, I mean them) to dress up for the movie....Carrie style. I am not even sure I should tell you guys what I have on right now and I am not even sure what I will show up to find! It is also Ali's 2 year anniversary of her divorce so we are going out for drinks afterward to celebrate (I know that seems weird but he cheated on her with her best friend (who was also married and whose wedding she was in) and now the two of them are getting married so we are celebrating the fact that she discovered how much of a dbag he was 5 years into marriage instead of 25).

I feel like there is a lot more but I don't know what it is right now. I feel like summer is already slipping away from me! Can't wait for the girls' weekend at the end of June!